Short Interest in Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Increases By 35.4%

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 656,500 shares, an increase of 35.4% from the September 15th total of 484,900 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 234,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Central Pacific Financial Price Performance

Shares of CPF traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.68. The company had a trading volume of 216,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,872. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.30. The company has a market capitalization of $802.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.13. Central Pacific Financial has a 1-year low of $14.69 and a 1-year high of $30.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.10. Central Pacific Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 16.44%. The company had revenue of $87.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Central Pacific Financial will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Central Pacific Financial’s payout ratio is 50.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPF. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 221.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 660.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial in the third quarter worth about $81,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Pacific Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Central Pacific Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 88.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Pacific Financial Company Profile

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit.